The Egyptian Company for the Production of Ethylene and Its Derivatives (Ethydco) succeeded in crowning its ambitious plan to implement a process safety management system by obtaining a performance certificate in process safety management from DNV, with reference to the requirements of the guidelines of the American Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS).
The certificate is considered an acknowledgment that the company is implementing process safety management systems in a way that meets international requirements and standards, thus being the first Egyptian company to obtain this international certificate.
This comes within the framework of contributing to the implementation of the sustainable development plan through Egypt's Vision 2030, the policy of the Ministry of Petroleum to implement the process safety system in the petroleum sector companies, and with the support of the Petrochemical Holding Company.
Ethydco started its ambitious project in 2017, by drawing systematic steps, the most important of which was the adoption of one of the globally applied systems for process safety management, providing the competencies and resources necessary for implementation, then analyzing the gaps between the implementer and system requirements, and implementing the results of the analysis through long and short-term action plans, while not neglecting the importance of achieving quick achievements To support the continuity of implementation, the necessary standards for monitoring and follow-up were also set to ensure effective implementation.
In implementing its plan, Ethydco relied on benefiting from the company's internal competencies and supporting it with the required competencies, including the capacity building program, which had a great impact in supporting the implementation of the process safety system in the sector in general.
Then in 2019, DNV, one of the most important global neutral expertise houses that evaluates process safety management systems, was hired to make a comprehensive assessment of the level of application in the company in several stages, the most important of which is the review of the regulations and procedures for implementing the system, as well as a preliminary evaluation and analysis of the gaps between the company's application and system requirements In addition to conducting inspections on all the company’s production sites to assess the protection and safety systems, followed by the creation of an action plan in all the company’s departments to implement the improvement points resulting from the initial evaluation process; And to conclude with the completion of the last stage, which is the final evaluation that took place in November 2021 over a period of 10 working days through personal interviews with the company’s process safety team headed by chemist Hani Tawfik, Director General of Occupational Safety and Health, and members of the Operations Safety Committees (higher and executive) headed by chemist Mohamed Ali Hassanein and representatives from All company departments responsible for implementing the system, in addition to making a final evaluation of the protection and safety systems.
In the closing meeting, in the presence of chemist Mohamed Ali Hassanein, chairman and managing director, chemist Salah Riad, assistant president of the Egyptian Petrochemical Holding Company for safety, occupational health and environmental protection, and chemist Mohamed Mostafa, director general of inspection, external audit and safety studies at the Egyptian Petrochemical Holding Company; The auditors of DNV commended the ideal application of the company’s process safety management system, which is in line with international procedures, and praised the great effort made to raise the level of the company’s process safety culture, preserve its equipment and properties, and pay attention to developing the company’s risk management system.
The chemist, Muhammad Ali Hassanein, stressed Ethydco’s continuous keenness to update its integrated management system with the application of modern technologies and standards for continuous improvement and to enhance the confidence of its customers, shareholders and suppliers, stressing the importance of integrating roles and the responsibility of everyone in supporting safety issues and issues in the company, out of keenness to promote the principle of sustainability, as this It is one of the values that the company's management is keen to implement in line with the sustainable development strategy of Egypt's Vision 2030.
He expressed his thanks and appreciation to all employees of the company who contributed to this unprecedented achievement, which will have a positive impact on the efficiency and safety of the plant and the preservation of assets and equipment.
Chemist Hani Tawfik, Director General of Occupational Safety and Health, confirmed that obtaining a performance certificate from DNV is a culmination of the efforts of all departments in Ethydco, in addition to the efforts of young people and future cadres in the safety and process safety departments of the company over the past years and since the beginning of the process safety project in the company, which would not have been successful without Full support from the Petrochemical Holding Company and from the company's president, who was always keen to overcome any obstacles and provide any required resources. He also affirmed the safety management's belief in the necessity of continuing the wheel of development and improvement.
Ethydco is the first Egyptian company to obtain a performance certificate in process safety management